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forest hemp

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Has anyone tried using a food dehydrator for curing soap?
My soap curing room gets very damp in winter and the mice keep eating my soap :(
So I was thinking a commerial size dehydrator might keep my soap warm and dry and help it cure faster?
 
the trays are 40cm by 40cm and are 35mm apart so I can fix approximately 350 bars in at a time...the temp ranges from 40 to 90 degrees...I'm hoping it will make evry thing cure faster during the winter months.
 

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Cool, I usually cure my soap on paper towel, just to keep it clean, so I will definitly line the trays then. I'll be happy if it keeps my soap from being soaking wet when I get to the shop in the mornings....I work in an old mechanics shed so there is no insulation and it's either very hot or very cold.
 
I find it really weird that I can have a shelf full of different soaps and only certian varities are wet? Has any one else had this happen?
 
What did you think of the DIY cupboard RSapienza? I'm not interested in speeding up cure - I'm interested in not having sweaty soap.
If it could be done for fairly cheap, I would say give it a try. My humidity is always high, but other than my salt bars, I've never had my soaps sweat. I do always have A/C on...not sure if that's a factor or not. I keep my soaps in a closet that has shelving built in. The door to the closet is one of those metal dual panel slide doors with the slits in them. Sorry, I have no clue what they're called. LOL I purchased a very small dehumidifier and I keep it in there. I probably empty the water in it every 3- days or so.
 
If it could be done for fairly cheap, I would say give it a try. My humidity is always high, but other than my salt bars, I've never had my soaps sweat. I do always have A/C on...not sure if that's a factor or not. I keep my soaps in a closet that has shelving built in. The door to the closet is one of those metal dual panel slide doors with the slits in them. Sorry, I have no clue what they're called. LOL I purchased a very small dehumidifier and I keep it in there. I probably empty the water in it every 3- days or so.
Yes A/C is definitely a factor
 
Before you go the dehydration method you might want to try this simple fan method first.

I have one and turn it on for a couple of hours a day. I set it on the floor and point it at the open metal shelving I have the soap stored in in large cardboard boxes. It works in my basement but it is temperature controlled all year.

Cheap desk fan link.
 
Before you go the dehydration method you might want to try this simple fan method first.

I have one and turn it on for a couple of hours a day. I set it on the floor and point it at the open metal shelving I have the soap stored in in large cardboard boxes. It works in my basement but it is temperature controlled all year.

Cheap desk fan link.
I'm thinking of doing something similar by adding old computer fans to a cabinet to keep the air circulating, most likely in conjunction with a heating pad for very low level warmth on cold days, and a dehumidifier.

I see in the older threads a mention of warping. I also feel that dehydrator temperatures overlap significantly with gel temperatures, that alone would make me hesitate.
 
Re: your mice problem: I use and have used for many years successfully, electronic pest deterrent devices. I started using while living in an area in the mountains in California notorious for roof rats & they would eat through plastic bins in the garage to get to what was inside. I would watch climb the bird feeders out near the street in broad daylight. They ate through the gas line under our house causing all the LP gas to leak out (under the house, yet!)

Rat traps weren't cutting it. Professional rodent control service wasn't cutting it. So I bought several electronic pest deterrent devices & situated them according to specification throughout our living space, as well as in the garage. They stayed outside after that. Proboably visited our neighbors more often.

These devices work.

When we moved here, I wasn't so diligent at first until I saw a mouse run past us in the living room one day & discovered a hole eaten through the floor under our front entryway (stuffed that with steel wool.) Then my husband found that they were also coming in through the water drain lines out back. So I pulled out our old ones from a moving box & started setting them up around the basement and our living areas. No more mice.

These devices have lasted a long time, but eventually do need to be replaced. There are even better ones now, that also keep out spiders!
 
Re: your mice problem: I use and have used for many years successfully, electronic pest deterrent devices. I started using while living in an area in the mountains in California notorious for roof rats & they would eat through plastic bins in the garage to get to what was inside. I would watch climb the bird feeders out near the street in broad daylight. They ate through the gas line under our house causing all the LP gas to leak out (under the house, yet!)

Rat traps weren't cutting it. Professional rodent control service wasn't cutting it. So I bought several electronic pest deterrent devices & situated them according to specification throughout our living space, as well as in the garage. They stayed outside after that. Proboably visited our neighbors more often.

These devices work.

When we moved here, I wasn't so diligent at first until I saw a mouse run past us in the living room one day & discovered a hole eaten through the floor under our front entryway (stuffed that with steel wool.) Then my husband found that they were also coming in through the water drain lines out back. So I pulled out our old ones from a moving box & started setting them up around the basement and our living areas. No more mice.

These devices have lasted a long time, but eventually do need to be replaced. There are even better ones now, that also keep out spiders!


Now spider repellants I could use! Do you know if they bother pets at all? If not, I might need to investigate... 🤔
 

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